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Being Different

 Interesting article about differences in attitude towards employment between Gen Z men and women. This may be beyond a generational thing though. I have known men of my generation waiting it out for couple of years for the right job - which means the right combination of prestige and pay. H for example refused to engage in any discussion if the pay was not higher than the job that he was let go from. The fact that he failed to perform at his prior role mattered nothing to him because he refused to recognize that as a concept. 

It had not worked out between him and his managers so he got on a performance plan and got out with some severance. As far as H was concerned they were idiots and he had gamed the system and no one could possibly perform in the conditions he had to. When I heard H describe the situation almost a year into being unemployed, I could not believe the attitude and then it started to make sense. He had to truly, deeply believe every word he said. If that were not the case, he would never be able to land the job he did a year later. 

Maybe that is how men like H (Gen Z and otherwise) cope with the reality of their unemployment. A fresh grad could claim that he needs to wait for the right employer to show up if not that job will be a mistake and slow down their career over time. For an experienced professional like H the answer is that they should not bounce between idiotic employers because it won't work anyway. H ended up making a lot more in the new job that took him two years to find - the title was an improvement too. 

I cannot imagine any of my female acquaintances being able to stand their ground for two years without work. What is more, they would not be able to come to the conclusion H did so effortlessly about why they lost their job in the first place - maybe women care more about such things, maybe they lack chutzpah or whatever it is that the likes of H have that allow them to thrive in adversity. While I learned a lot from observing him, I am all but certain that I would not be able to do what he did.

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